I am going through this book called Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be – a 90 Day Guide to Living the Proverbs 31 Life by Donna Partow. I’m going to tryGo to post at least three times a week from this journey that I am embargoing. It stated that the next 90 days is going to past by you no matter how you spend them. You can just mark time by doing nothing or you can, “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance that race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)

Have you ever thought that the Proverbs 31 was a mythological creature or something that was out there and totally unattainable. Donna says, “I thought she was a weapon spiritual leaders use to make all of us ordinary Christian women feel bad about ourselves.” People say that women of noble character are extremely hard to find and they are right, But then she actually met a woman who was a Proverbs 31 woman. It was like she had just walked out of the Bible. It showed her that becoming a Proverbs 31 woman was the only goal worthy of her life’s devotion.

Donna was invited to speak in Colombia and was asked to stay a few days by her host, Hector Torres at his aunt’s house at the base of the Andes Mountains. Since she had never been to the area before, she went to a bookstore and found little to no information on the area. What she did fine didn’t even tell her that the area had been torn apart by civil and drug wars for the last three decades. It simple said: it’s too Dangerous!!! She was just a “little…..” apprehensive about the trip, but she went anyway.

Donna was very pleasantly surprised when she met Hector’s Aunt, Beatriz Duenas. She was such a picture of elegance, ease and bety. She showed us around the breathtaking grounds and we talked amid the fruit bearing trees bursting with bananas, guavas, oranges, papayas, tangerines, avocados, and plantains. She showed us her coffee, trout pond, chicken coops, and even her worm farm. All the property abounded with energy and productivity just like the Woman of the House.

After a wild spread of breakfast that included a variety of fresh-squeezed juices, eggs scrambled with tomatoes, peppers, and onions and freshly grown coffee of which it all came from the property, Beatriz would take a walk to her favorite place which was a small stone and wrought-iron chapel with wooden benches that looked centuries old. Just by looking at her there you knew you were standing on holy ground. She told us that she had spent hours here praying, reading, and meditating in this open-air sanctuary.

Beatriz’s story didn’t begin here but in 1950 when she married Jose. She was sixteen and he was nineteen. A year later a baby was born and three daughters in good succession. She worked well with Jose. They worked together everyday in their auto parts store. Even thought she was a teenager, she was great at business, and they prospered. Soon they grew into a big corporation with multiple employees and satellite stores locations. They were best friends, business partners, and lover’s for life. “They were inseparable.”

What happened on January 23, 1984 changed all that forever. At 6:30 pm Jose was on his way home. He was driving along when suddenly his car was surrounded by six kidnappers. They took him out of the car and disappeared. After two months, They demanded an outrageous amount of money to the tune of $30 million to release him. By March 19 Beatriz paid the kidnappers one million dollars.

She never saw her husband again!

It almost broke her, but through the pain she begun looking for and seeking out God which led her to walk by faith. She started attending a little church which provided her other Christians who helped comfort, encourage, and sustain her. She stayed in the mountain home of her husband to tend the garden and started planting money-producing fruit trees using funds from the rental properties he had started as investments. She was starting to learn how to make it all work on her own.

Her first massive business venture was building four massive chicken coops, which now house 48,000 chickens. She took out a 2nd mortgage to do it, but she doesn’t regret it at all. It’s providing a steady income for the paradise and it will continue to do so in the future.

Beatriz then learned about the coffee industry. She read books and took classes. Today, her coffee product help fill in the money gaps in the seasons of fruit and there are no chickens ready for market. She even started a worm farm. She says it’s not successful yet. This just means it hasn’t been given enough time. LOL

Donna says, “What I will always remember about Beatriz is not her thriving enterprises and the wisdom God gave her to develop multiple streams of income. What I will always remember is the overwhelming peace that permeated her countenance, her home, and her entire surrounding.” Donna states that the one word that would describe Beatriz would be “Lovely”. Donna commented on the way that there was not even an ounce of Bitterness or Self-pity when she talked regarding her losses. All Beatriz would speak of was her gratitude to God. She was asked what her secret was and she replied, “Forgiveness,” she replied quickly, “It took me a long time to completely forgive the people that kidnapped my husband and robbed me of all that could have been. But the moment I did, the peace of God overcame me and it has not left.”

Beatriz’s parting words to Donna were, “Tell the women they must come to full confidence and assurance that what God has done for me, He can do for them also!” Donna also says, “Do not expect to be entirely transformed into Beatriz’s clone in the next ninety days. Not only is it impossible, it’s not even desirable. God has a completely, customized plan for your life. Trust Him!!!!!

Welcome to the journey of Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be (BWGW)!

Ask anyone, “What are the names of God or Jesus?” and you will get very varied answers. Some with say that God is the Father and Jesus is the Son and that is all that they are. Others will say that God is the Father, The Great I AM, Our Master, Our Provider, Healer, and God Most High,: Jesus is the Son of God, Part of the Trinity, Healer, Lord, and Savior. The names of God and Jesus are so much more than just names. To understand this concept all you have to do is open you heart and mind to these concepts. I’m going to lead you on a journey to discover the meaning of their names, but unfortunately most likely not all of them. Even though I think and expect perfection from myself, I might miss a few because I am not in fact, perfect…LOL Let the Journey Begin!!!!

Most of the names of God or Jesus are not really proper names like Cheryl is to me. Their names are more like characteristics or descriptions that tell you more about them so that you can know them better. Some of the names are the same for both God and Jesus. For example, both of them are called a form of “Lord”: God is called “LORD” and Jesus is called “My Lord”. I will get more into that at another time.

Exodus 3:14 KJV

God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM, Say this to the people of Israel: I AM sent me to you.”

God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, God of your ancestors – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.

This is my eternal name,

my name to remember for all generations.”

God does have a proper name as you can see in the above scripture. It is the Hebrew word “YHWH”. In the Hebrew language the vowels are only spoken not written so the pronunciation and spelling are still in debate today. “Yahweh” and “Jehovah” are just two examples of the proper name of God. Jehovah is a form of the Hebrew name of God that is used in only some translations of the Bible. Synonyms of Jehovah are being used as nouns for example: Absolute Being, Allah, Father, and Almighty One.

Psalm 83:18 KJV

“That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the Most High over all the earth”

Exodus 6:3 KJV

“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.”

As you can see in the above verses from the King James version of the Bible, God names Himself, JEHOVAH. Now the problem is that in later translations of the Bible such as the NLT and even the New King James, JEHOVAH is changed to “Lord” only in small upper case instead of BOLD UPPER CASE! JEHOVAH is seen more often in the Bible joined with other titles or characteristics such as JEHOVAH Shalom meaning , “The Lord Our Peace.”

YHWH can also be turned into “Yahweh”. It is used about 6,828 times in the Bible. It came to be regarded by the Jews in about c Bc 300 as “too sacred” to be spoken which is why the spelling and the way it is pronounced is still in some debate even unto this day. Just as JEHOVAH is translated into “Lord” in the English Bible, YAHWEH in the Hebrew Word is built around the words, “I AM!” Now that is a different topic altogether.

Now we have to ask the question, “Is God’s name important?” Well, let’s look at the prayer that Jesus Christ gave us to prayer:

Matthews 6:9

“Our Father in the Heaven

Let your name be sanctified.”

Let’s also look at how Jesus himself, prayed to God:

John 12:29

“Father, glorify your name.”

In response, God spoke from heaven; saying:

“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”

Jesus talks to God with respect, and reverence, and honor and places great importance on God’s name. This sets the stage for us. We, too, should treat the Father and the Son with respect, reverence and honor, and hold Him in a place of great importance in our lives.

Come join me on a journey into the individual names of God and Jesus and what they mean. It will be interesting to see where it leads us……

Thank you very much goes out to Stuart Tutt of Something to Stu Over for nominating me for this challenge. I find that it is an interesting challenge especially for someone like me that doesn’t write/post very often.

The rules are simple and as follows:

Thank the person who nominated you.

Post a different quote for 3 days straight, and explain why each one appeals to you.

Nominate at least two new bloggers each day

I’ve had an interesting life which has left me with a lot of negative thinking and feelings. After a lot of seeing doctors over the years and research in God’s Word, I’ve come to the point that I need to change something from negative to positive if I want a more godly life. I started reading the book Deliver Me from Negative Self-Talk.

I chose the following quote:

“An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself.”

– Albert Camus

This quote really made me stop and think. Thinking in and of itself is both very complicated and simple at the same time. It is the way that the mind talks. The book goes on to say that the act of thinking produces thoughts which turns into words leading to actions which creates character. If your mind is like mine, sometimes it is really hard to even catch a single thought to focus on an turn them into words.

If you are always negative in your thoughts and actions then your life will be negative. Positive thoughts and actions then will birth a positive life. You have to change the way that you are thinking to change your character or life. If I want to be more God-like, then I need to put more of God’s Word in my mind and heart and it will be reflected in my character.

Thank you to Stuart for letting me participate in this challenge. I nominate the following bloggers for this challenge:

Today is the day that the Light of God finally shown through my thick dark skull on my backwards thinking Mind and discovered that it should be trying to find contentment of the Mind and Soul with God in this life instead of fighting and gathering all the time. It took a hard kick in the teeth from a very good friend to finally get through this skull of mine and open up my eyes to the truth that I should have learned a long time ago. I know that I have a thick skull. I’ve had it all my life. Sometimes it has served me well, but sometimes it has gotten me in some real deep trouble.

I tend not to learn things the easy way. My granddad used to say that I was a true graduate of the University of Hard Knocks. I had to try everything out and turn it all around and even flip it over again and again before taking a look at it carefully and if I couldn’t figure it out then I would ask for help. No one could ever tell me anything. I just would not listen to them. I always had to find out on my own. Being a red flag in a tug-a-war between my two families for my entire life has grown my thick skin on me very well and put it in place hard and fast. Besides both sides of my families are also known for their own thick mindedness. (LOL)

Being content is a foreign concept to me for I have never been content with anything in my life. I have always been waiting for the next, big, new thing that will get me out of my present place in life to get to the next better place in life. I’m always searching for the next pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The words Content (to be) or contentment just are not in my vocabulary. They can be used as a verb, an adjective, and a noun. As a verb it primarily signifies “to be sufficient, to be possessed of sufficient strength, to be strong, to be enough for a thing” As an adjective used in “sufficient in oneself.” As a noun it means “contentment, or satisfaction with what one has.”

Let us look at the All Mighty Monster we call Money first of all. Money is very tight for me and has always been for most of my life. I live on a very tight budget, but it works. Praise the Lord! And I tithe every month with it. I do have a small problem in the fact that I like to spend money and my depression doesn’t help me in this area. I get really depressed and getting stuff and spending money tends to make me feel better. I do a lot of mail order and I am always getting catalogs with open credit accounts, I like to just pretend to order things even when I know I can’t afford it, Now I realize that I am not living as God wants me to.

Luke 3:14 (NLT)

“What should we do?” asked some soldiers. John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”

In the above Scripture John the Baptist is speaking to the crowds about the coming wrath of God and the coming of the Messiah. He was talking of what was to come and was giving the people the advice of what they should be doing about it. Here, he told some soldiers to, “be content with their pay”. This is very important because not only are we to be content with “our pay” now but we are also to be able to be good stewards of what God gives us.

Hebrews 13:5 (NLT)

Don’t love money: be satisfied with what you have. For God has said:

“I will never fail you,

I will never abandon you.”

Here in Hebrews God tells us NOT to love money AND to be satisfied. See “Love of Money” and the things that money can buy is not contentment. By my even pretending to order things that I really don’t need, I was telling God that I was taking care of me instead of letting Him take care of me. You see? God will take care of everything for us. God will never fail us! He will never abandon us! In this way we are suppose to be content and satisfied with what and where we are. I’ll leave you with this:

Philippians 4:11-13

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

I am amazed at the world today and it is not in a good way. I was reading Matthew Winter’s ‘What happened to tolerance?” and it brought it all to a head for me. I was not happy about it all and I have to have my say.

I was born in 1967. I was taught morals and what was right was right. What was wrong was wrong. Every man and woman no matter their skin tone deserved an equal pay and vote. I remember after homework and afternoon snack if the weather was nice and sometimes when it was not outside we would go until dinner was on the table or it was dark. Our toys were the dirt and the trees and the grass. We had play clothes and school clothes and church clothes, and you did not get them mixed up. You always went to church on Sunday, there just was no talking yourself out of it. You had church and school dances and plenty of outing to go to that kept you busy tell your of age to date. Then your in High School and the pressure’s on. How far do you let the boy go? Too far and your a slut not far enough and your a prissy. A girl just couldn’t win. If you had sex in high school you weren’t the kind to take home to mom. If you waited too long, the guy loses interest. Now I’m a PK, Preacher’s Kid, so I had it worst than most and It didn’t help when the second guy I ever dated came back to school and said I was a home run when we didn’t even kiss much less hold hands. I was so upset. It pretty much put me off dating till college. I will tell you for a date with a college guy I did walk 6 miles into town , and it was safe to do that. I got a ride back home, and I did get in trouble for sneaking out and that was in 1985.

Here’s a true story that will really show the times we live in. I’m in the 5th grade, two popular girls came up to me after class and kept asking me who I was gay with. I kept saying, “Well, Scott, Makes me laugh. and Eric, always had good jokes.” But it wasn’t until I said,” But my Mom makes me the happiest with these little notes that she leaves me all over the house.” They run off yelling at the top of their lungs, “Cheryl’s gay with her Mother!” I turned red and started to cry though I didn’t know why. I ran home that day tears rolling down my cheeks. I asked Mom about it and she didn’t know. This wasn’t new because to Mom, a French kiss was oral sex. So I went to GrandDad and that was when I found out there was another meaning to the word gay.

Now I’ve raised my children the best that I could in this world. There are now armed guards in their schools and metal detectors as well. My kids could not have metal lunch boxes or any metal at all except for keys to home. They were locked in during the day for their own security. These days we have school shooters killing our children in these locked down schools. Gangs run our streets to the point where it is safer to join a gang than it is to try to live on your own without their protection. There are a lot more places that children and even adults can’t go out of their homes to the corner store alone without fear of harm. Even in the country parts of Mississippi where I grew up I read of a man killing his neighbor just for his land because his neighbor wouldn’t sell to him. It is getting wrong in the world when brother is fighting brother over a piece of land. I want to tell them, “It’s all good. It all belongs to God!!!!!! It’s not yours anyway.”

We are in the End Times! The only thing wrong with the End Times is that God never said how long it would last. But if you really look around you will see without difficulty the prophecies coming true. Man is laying with Man. Woman is laying with woman. Babies are having babies because the government pays them more for the more kids they have despite the fact that they don’t know how to raise them or not have the room to house them properly, as well as can’t handle the number of children that they have. Young men turning to drug dealing because it’s easy money and dropping out of school to do it. More homeless Vets because the government can’t help them now that they are out of the service. This is NOT of God!!!!! We are NOT to Tolerate this. People are asking where is God. Well there is a song that says that, “That’s why God created you!” When are YOU going to start standing up and fighting for what God stands for instead of “Tolerating” the Devil? Are You all arm chair quarterbacks? When are You going to get into the game of life? On Whose side are You playing?

“I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them!”

People come in so many shapes and sizes. No two are alike even in identical twins there are at least some differences. It’s the way that God designed it. People though, try to make themselves like each other, and when your not, they get unkind about it. They also get unkind if you are better than they are in the work place or if they “think” at being a wife or mother. It all bowls down to how the other person really “Thinks”. Some people hold you up to an impossible standard like your children sometimes or your husband or boyfriend. Then there are some people that should hold you up, but don’t which is just plain sad.

When you don’t preform up to other people’s standards or in the fashion that they think you should, they tend to “tear you down” and say bad things about you. That is what this passage of Scripture is talking about today. Some people want to destroy you because they “think” you have a better life than they have. Others because you have something they want. Still others because you’ve got something they want. And still others because they want to win, and finally others just to break you and put you down into the ground. It’s not pretty, but it’s the Human Truth – “Everyone out for themselves at any cost to their fellow man.” Of Course this is not God’s Way, “Love your Neighbor as Yourself.” unfortunately.

Satan wants us at each other’s throats and fighting for everything we have tooth and knuckle. He would have us bloody and weak from all our fighting amongst ourselves. That way he could just swoop in and take us easy, without a fight. Satan doesn’t like to fight. He likes to come in the back door like a burglar and kill you from the inside out all nice and quiet. He can’t stand the light of God because Jesus already defeated him.

You see Jesus brought the Satan out into the Light and Defeated him once and for all so we don’t have to be afraid of him anymore. Satan is like a lion without any teeth. All he can do is roar at you. I mean, what’s else is he going to do?…..Gum you to death?..,….LOL 1 Peter 5:8 States it perfectly – NLT “Stay Alert! Watch out for your great enemy the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

When we find ourselves in these situations and the devil is hard on our cases, All we have to do is turn to God in prayer and He will give us strength to endure anything. I love my Heavenly Father so very much. He has gotten me through some very hard times, and it was all through prayer and obedience. Even if all you can do is say Jesus’s name out loud, that in itself is a mighty prayer because there is power in the name of Jesus!!!!! Jesus has always been there for me and I know that He will always be there for you and get you through too.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please be with Whomever is reading this post right now and speak to their hearts. Let them know that You are near and that You’ve got things well in hand even if everything around them is spinning out of control at this time. Wrap your strong arms of comfort, peace and joy around them and let them know in their soul that they are truly loved. I humbly ask these things in thy Son’s name, AMEN

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

In other versions of the Bible the word, “thoughts” are changed to the word, “plans”. This seems like a straightforward, direct, no holds bar, statement on the outside. Let us look on the inside. This statement sounds out of context like God is talking to every single person individually. Let’s take a look at Jeremiah 29:4 (KJV)) and test this fact;

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;”

Do my eyes deceive me? Does that look like a one or all? By George I think is talking to ALL His people instead of just one person at a time. I guess God can get tired of saying the same thing over and over again. (LOL) So the you in Jeremiah 29:11 is not meant for an individual but for all of God’s people. Isn’t it grand that God knows our thoughts before we do?

Okay, let’s look at something else that may surprise you even more. There was a condition on this promise. Let’s look at Jeremiah 29:10 (KJV);

“For thou saith the Lord, that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, to causing you to return to this place.”

Did I read that right? God’s wasn’t coming right then? He’s going to make His people wait? Why? Because it was better for His people? How is waiting better for his people? Maybe they needed to get their act together. Maybe they needed to grow during this time of captivity and learn things. The important thing is that after 70 years, God came to carry them away to Jerusalem. They had to go through the storm of Babylon before they can reap the glory of God.

The storms are going to come, but God will bring you through them. I have found myself having to go through the storm a lot more often than not before I got to where God wanted me to be. Of course, that might be because I grew up learning things at the University of Hard Knocks and didn’t really start listening or paying attention to advice from others until I was in my 30’s and 40’s. What can I say? I’m a preacher’s kids…..LOL

Even though this was a “you-do / me-do” from a very long ago, it is still in effect today. All God wants us to do is LOVE HIM and put HIM FIRST IN OUR LIVES. OBEY HIM and, let HIM TAKE CONTROL for change. I know how hard it is to GIVE CONTROL OVER TO GOD because it’s the one area that I am having the most trouble in. I Like my control (LOL). But it’s better His Way! He wants to love us and take care of us and have only good things for us instead of all the bad that is in the world today. We are here to show Jesus to the World. Are you showing Jesus or something/someone else?

Prayer:

God, how I love You!! You are way too good for me. Please forgive me of my sins. Thank You for everything that You do for me. Thank You for keeping me safe for all these years and for all the years to come. Thank You for all the blessings that You have given me and anyone reading this and all the ones in the future. You are the Great Healer, Lord. Please restore health to me and take away this pain. “I didn’t earn it. I don’t deserve it, but You give Yourself away.” (from the song, “Reckless Love”). Praise be to the Father, The Son, and The Holy Sprit. In Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.